The Grey NATO – 218 – Crossing The Arctic Ocean With Børge Ousland

If you’re into the world of daring Arctic exploration, Børge Ousland needs no introduction. For the rest of you, Børge became the first man to complete a solo and unaided journey to the North Pole in 1994. Then in 1997, he made the first solo and unaided crossing of Antarctica from coast to coast, covering 1,864 miles (2,845 km) from the edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf to the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

In his world-first solo crossing of Antarctica, Børge set out from Berkner Island in the Weddell Sea and reached the McMurdo base by the Ross Sea 64 days later, hauling a 390-pound (178-kg) sled. He used a windsail to help propel him on parts of the journey. Then, in the winter of 2019, he partnered with the renowned explorer Mike Horn to cross the Arctic Ocean in a similar fashion. NatGeo called it “the boldest polar expedition of modern times”.

Thanks to our friends at Norrøna, who count Børge as one of their illustrious ambassadors, we hopped on a call with Børge from his home in Norway to chat about his career in cold places, how he manages the mental stress of being an explorer, and even his experience field testing a special limited edition watch made by Ulysse Nardin for Norrøna.

All that and more in episode 218. Thanks so much for listening, click here to play the show in your browser.

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2:10 The TGN Substack 
5:40 Jason’s heated seat covers
7:08 SAS Rogue Heros
7:17 Slow Horses (Season 2 comes December 2nd!)
8:44 Mido Ocean Star GMT 
9:23 Oceanic+ app for Apple Watch Ultra  
10:34 The Noel Diary 
11:33 Børge Ousland Instagram 
16:54 Crossing the Arctic Ocean with Mike Horn
19:39 Nansen’s 1893-1896 Fram Expedition
27:47 Norrøna 
39:28 Sector watches
41:09 Video with a clip of Børge fixing his sled (GLEX Summit 2022)
45:50 Pioneer (movie) 
48:51 Ulysse Nardin Diver Norrøna Arctic Night LE 
53:40 The Icelegacy Project
54:45 Ousland.com 
58:20 The Untold Story of The Boldest Polar Expedition of Modern Times
59:50 Trailer for The Last Overland 
59:51 Link to All4 streaming for The Last Overland
1:02:15 Descending (TV Show)

“Victory awaits him who has everything in order - luck, people call it” – Roald Amundsen